Integration of Ground Penetrating Radar with Real Time Kinematic ‐ Global Positioning System Receivers for Efficient Mapping of Drainage Pipe Systems beneath Golf Course Greens

Abstract

The U.S. alone has over 16,000 golf course facilities. The upkeep of these facilities requires continual maintenance and occasional remodeling. The superintendents and architects responsible for golf course maintenance and remodeling efforts need non‐destructive tools for obtaining shallow subsurface information, particularly with regard to determining drainage pipe locations beneath golf course greens. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has already been proven capable of finding buried drainage pipes under golf course greens; however, the use of this technology needs to be streamlined in order to map these drainage pipes in a timely manner with minimal disruption of golf course activities. A case study was therefore initiated to evaluate the efficiency of integrating GPR with real time kinematic ‐ global positioning system (RTK‐GPS) receivers to map drainage pipe systems beneath golf course greens. The integration of GPR (using 400 MHz antennas) with RTK‐GPS for drainage pipe mapping was tested at six different golf course green sites in central Ohio. Integration of GPR and RTK‐GPS allowed data to be collected without a grid set‐up of well defined measurement transects, and as a result, the time needed to conduct a golf course green GPR survey was reduced by half with the added benefit of no disruption to golf course activities. Furthermore, based on knowledge of typical golf course green drainage pipe installation practices, extremely simple and easy to use processing techniques can then be employed using the GPR/RTK‐GPS data to generate accurate golf course green drainage pipe maps. Consequently, this case study provides strong evidence that integration of GPR with RTK‐GPS is a valuable tool that can be used by the golf course industry for efficient mapping golf course green drainage pipe systems.